Matthew 3

Dry hills stretched down to the Jordan River. Out in that empty land, a man named John began to preach. People called him John the Baptist.

John had one main message. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (3:2).

To repent means to turn around and change direction. The kingdom of heaven means God's rule, the way God runs things. John meant that people should turn back to God, because God was about to act.

Matthew says John was the one Isaiah had promised long ago. Isaiah wrote about "a voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord'" (3:3).

Isaiah's words picture a road being made ready. Valleys are filled in and rough ground is made smooth (Isaiah 40:4). This is a comparison. John was getting people ready for God.

John dressed plainly. He wore clothing made of camel's hair. A leather belt was tied around his waist.

He ate locusts and wild honey. Locusts are large grasshoppers. God's law allowed people to eat them. Wild honey was honey found out in nature, not from a farmer's hives.

This was plain food and clothing for a man living in the wilderness. It also matches how the Bible describes Elijah, one of Israel's great prophets. Elijah wore "a leather belt around his waist" too (2 Kings 1:8).

People came from everywhere. They walked from the city of Jerusalem. They came from all of Judea and from the towns along the Jordan River.

They confessed their sins. To confess means to say out loud what you did wrong. Then John baptized them in the river.

This took courage. These people said in public that they had done wrong. They did not hide it.

Many Pharisees and Sadducees came to the river too. Pharisees were a Jewish group devoted to carefully keeping God's law. Sadducees were another group. Many of them were priests.

John spoke sharply to them. "You brood of vipers" (3:7), he called them. A brood of vipers is a nest of poisonous snakes. This is a comparison, and a very strong one.

Then John asked who had warned them to run from the coming wrath. Wrath here means God's judgment.

John told them to show that they had really turned back to God. He called it producing fruit. This is a comparison too. A good tree shows it is healthy by the fruit it grows.

John warned them not to tell themselves, "Abraham is our father." Being part of Abraham's family would not take the place of turning back to God. He said God could make children for Abraham out of the stones on the ground.

He said an axe was ready at the root of the trees. Any tree without good fruit would be cut down and burned. This is a comparison too. It warned that God's judgment was close.

John was Jewish, and so were these leaders. He warned leaders of his own people, like Israel's prophets did before him. He was not talking about every Pharisee or every Jewish person.

John did not point to himself. He said, "I baptize you with water, for turning back to God. But someone more powerful than I am is coming after me."

John said he was not even worthy to carry that person's sandals. Carrying sandals was a servant's job.

John said the one coming would baptize "with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (3:11).

Then John described the one who was coming as a farmer at harvest. The farmer tossed grain into the air with a winnowing fork. The wind blew away the light, dry husks, called chaff. The good wheat fell down, and the farmer gathered it into the barn. The chaff was burned in a fire that never goes out. This is a comparison. The one coming would sort out what is good and what is not.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River. He came to be baptized by John.

John tried to stop him. "I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" (3:14). John thought it should be the other way around.

Jesus answered, "Let it be so now" (3:15). He said it was right for them to do this, "to fulfill all righteousness" (3:15).

Righteousness means being right with God and doing what God wants. Jesus was saying this was part of God's plan. So John agreed.

Jesus went down into the same river where people had confessed their sins. He stood right where they stood.

John baptized Jesus. As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened. Here "the heavens" means the sky.

Jesus saw the Spirit of God coming down "like a dove" (3:16). This is a comparison. Matthew does not say the Spirit turned into a bird. The Spirit came down the way a dove comes down, and rested on Jesus.

Then a voice spoke from heaven.

"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!" (3:17).

John had said he was not worthy. Now God himself said who Jesus was.